Innocent- A second chance
by erdi99
Summary: AU Ranger was wrongfully convicted of murder in the third degree with 30 years in Prison. Steph and Ranger were a couple, until he went to prison. Now 10 years later Ranger is out. Will Steph and he make another go off it, or did too much time past? Its a Babe, little cupcake, but they werent harmed!
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note:**

**So this is something that popped into my head, as I read an article about a guy who spent 21 years in jail for something he didn't do.**

**I still have to finish my 'babe' story, so I won't be updating this one for quite some time. I just want to see if anyone likes for me to continue this or not.**

**I also like to say that I am German and all my knowledge about the American legal system comes from research or my own mind. If any of this is incorrect please let me know and I will correct it.**

**I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

'_One'…'Two'…'Three'_

I start counting as my muscles start to burn, since I am unsure of how many chin ups I can actually do.

"MANOSO" The warden screams across the exercise yard. I just look over to him, but don't stop with my training. The warden motions for me to come over and with a sigh I let myself drop down to the ground.

"What does he want?" My best friend Tank questions with a raised eyebrow, before taking my place on the bar.

"Go no idea" I shrug my shoulders, pull my shirt over my sweat covered body and make my way over to the other end of the yard, nodding at a few guys in passing.

10 years I have already spent in the High Security United States Penitentiary Coleman, for a crime I did not commit. We were set up. By 'We' I mean Tank and I. Apparently we shot two undercover DEA agents and got 30 years behind bars. Tank and I always said we were innocent but until a year ago no one seemed to listen to us.

The center of Wrongful convictions helped us, to get our cases examined again and now it is just a waiting game.

"You have got a visitor" Warden Duncan Moore says, as I finally reach him. He puts the cuffs on and leads me to the visitor's room. Since we are at a high security prison, I am only allowed to speak to my visitors through glass and by phone.

My lawyer from the center of wrongful convictions, Mrs. O'Hara, is waiting for me there and I pick up the phone.

"Good news, Mr. Manoso" she says with a smile. She is a 50-something woman, with short black hair, brown eyes and a drill sergeants attitude.

"How so?" I question.

"We got through to the court. Your case is being re-opened" She tells me and a bit of relief is washing over me. _Finally!_

* * *

_**Two Months later**_

"What have you decided?" The judge asks the jury and my hands become sweaty.

"We find Pierre LaPierre and Ricardo Carlos Manoso not guilty of first degree murder" The Jury foreman replies and I need to let that sink in for a minute. Our parents and friends cheer behind us and I turn around to face my cousin, who is sitting behind the barrier.

Lester has always believed in my innocence. He was actually the one who got me and Tank in touch with the lawyers. I owe him for the rest of my life for this.

"Gracias hermano (thank you brother)" I tell him and hug him tight. Repeating that with his best friend Bobby.

"Order…Order" The judge shouts over the cheers and hammers his gravel loudly. "Mr. Manoso and Mr. LaPierre, on the behalf of the United States of America and the State of New Jersey, I apologize for your wrongful conviction. You are free to go."

That day we only go back to the Prison to pick up our belongings. As the gates open and we step out, Lester and Bobby are already waiting.

"I expected the whole family to be here" I remark, relieved that they aren't. I love them, but they can be a little too much sometimes, especially my sisters.

My mother and father always stood behind me and if they ever doubted my innocence, they never showed it. Every other Sunday they would fly down from Trenton and visit me here, bringing me little things to make my stay a little more comfortable. But my sisters were different. It took them a couple of years, to come around and visit me.

"I talked them out of it. But there may or may not be a welcome home party for you guys" Lester replies and motions for Tank and me to get in the car.

As we pull away from the hell that is the High Security Prison, United States Penitentiary Coleman, Tank and I look at each other and nod our heads. _We are finally free men!_

As we get to my Aunt's house in Orlando there are at least 50 people waiting for us. Originally Tank is from Texas and Bobby from Georgia, but both moved to Trenton, New Jersey as they were little.

The four of us have been inseparable since we first met in high school, but thankfully Bobby and Lester weren't with us that fateful night.

"Stop thinking and drink, cuz" Lester says, slaps me on the back and hands me a shot of tequila. With that he brings me out of my own thoughts.

As everything just gets a little too much, I find a quiet place in my Aunt's back yard. Soon enough Tank, Lester and Bobby join me.

"Are you coming back to Trenton with us tomorrow?" Bobby questions after a good half an hour of silence.

"Yeah" Tank answers and we fall back into silence; the only noise is coming the music coming from inside the house.

* * *

"Bienvenido a casa hijo (Welcome home, Son) " My dad says as I enter my parent's house in Trenton a couple of days later.

"Gracias" I reply.

"Nos dijo a sus hermanas que se necesita un tiempo para ajustar (We told your sisters that you needed some time to adjust) " My mother tells me and hugs me tight.

"Gracias mama (Thank you mom)" I reply and hug her back. It is good to be home.

"It smells delicious in here" Lester says as he walks down the stairs, after he brought my luggage to my room.

"I made Arroz con P…" My mother replies with a heavy Spanish accent. She can't even finish that sentence, before Les and I run to the kitchen, pushing and shoving each other in the process, my mother and father following us, laughing. "There is enough for the two of you!"

Arroz con Pollo, is a seasoned rice dish and my mother makes the best. Even as we were young Les and I battled for the last plate. We quickly sit down at the already set table and start to eat.

"How was your trip" My dad questions. Referring to our little road trip from Orlando to Trenton.

"Let's say next time, I will check the car over, when Les assures me that it is ready for the trip" I reply with a smile and shoot my cousin a pointed look. "If I didn't know better, I would say that he isn't a mechanic by trade and loves his high powered cars."

"Hey…That tire wasn't my fault. That was Bobby's job!" Les protests with a smirk.

"Yeah…Bobby's job my ass" I mutter and earn a slap on the back of my head from my mother.

"Watch your language, Ricardo!" My mother chides and I rub my head.

Later that night I enter my room and I am immediately brought back to my teenage years. Nothing much has changed in here. There are still the same posters, from rappers I liked ten years ago, a few family pictures have been added, but the last time I saw this room it was a lot messier than it is now.

I strip out of my clothes, hang them neatly over the chair and go to bed. Sleep doesn't come easy tonight. Everything is so quiet. In prison, even the nights were noisy, if there weren't you knew something big was about to go down and you had to be on your guard.

Just a few month into my sentence I was attacked by my cellmate, while I was sleeping. Since then I have gotten used to sleep with one eye open and some sort of weapon under my pillow.

At 4 am I give up and put on my old running shoes, which thankfully still fit me, and hit the road. I return to my parent's house as the sun comes up two hours later.

"Couldn't sleep?" My father questions over his morning newspaper and coffee, as I enter the kitchen. I smile at the familiar side. My dad always sits at the head of the table and every morning at 5.30, doesn't matter if he has to go to work or not, and makes himself coffee and reads the morning paper.

"Too quiet" I reply. Over the last 10 years I have become a man of few words, I hated the people that chatted my ear off.

I pour myself a cup of coffee and dad hands me the sports section. Might as well occupy my mind for a while, before I have to meet the guys for breakfast.

* * *

"Where are you going?" My mother shouts after me, just like she did as I was 15 years old.

"Meeting the guys for breakfast" I shout back over my shoulder and run out of the house. I look at my watch and realize I am late. The guys will be wondering where I am and since I don't own a mobile phone, I have no way of contacting them.

Just as I am rounding the last corner to Martha's diner, I bump into someone. "I am so sorry…damn…" Says the woman in front of me as she kneels down to pick up her groceries that have fallen out of the paper bag, which is now ripped.

"I am sorry…I should have paid more attention" I apologize and kneel down next to her. As she looks up, my heart starts racing. "Babe…?"

"Carlos" Stephanie Plum replies and looks me straight in the eyes. She is still as beautiful as she was 10 years ago, when I thought nothing could tear us apart.

Well I hate to say it, but I was wrong!


	2. Chapter 2

**STOP! Do not start reading this. Please go back to chapter 1, because I have changed it a bit towards the end.**

**Author's note**

**Wow, I did not expect so many comments, favorites or followers. Thank you. I hope I will live up to your expectations of this story.**

**Whereas 'Babe' was mostly told from Steph's POV, this story will be mostly told from Ranger's POV. A change in POV will always be announced.**

**Stay tuned!**

**P.s: I will try to not to keep you guys waiting long between updates.**

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

_**10 years earlier**_

"I have been accepted to the University of Kansas, Carlos" Babe says in almost a whisper with tears in her eyes. Maybe this explains all her weird behavior of late and the big fight just 5 minutes ago, that started out of nothing and turned into something.

"What?" I question, trying to warp my head around that information.

"I don't have a choice, but to go. My mother drives me insane. The constant nagging and berating, I can't hear it anymore. I need to get out." She replies and turns around to look out the window.

"That's okay. I will find a job there...maybe even go to College myself" I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. I don't intent to go to College right now. I want to work first and figure out what I actually want to do with my life. But I am sure about one thing I do not want to become a paper pusher, I hate being confined to spaces. I need to be able to move around.

Maybe I will become a cop, but they also have a lot of paperwork. The army seems appealing too, but it would take me away from here a lot. And I don't know if our relationship will sustain that.

"No…no…you don't understand…my mother only lets me go if you don't come with me. She is going to pay my tuition and everything!" Steph shouts, pushes me away to turn around and stare at me.

"And you are going to let her make that decision? You are 18 now Steph, stop letting your mother rule your life!" I shout back in frustration.

"If you come, she won't pay. This means I cannot afford the tuition, which means I have to stay in the Burg!" The wild hand gestures are starting and I know we are on the brink of starting another argument.

"We will make it work. I have some money saved up, from working with my dad. We don't need your parent's money" I assure her in a softer tone and walk a few steps further towards her. I don't want to fight about this, we just made up.

"I can't ask that off you. Maybe it is best if I go alone" Steph whispers.

"So that is it? After a year of rebelling against your parents to date me, you are giving up?" I am frustrated. Mrs. Plum didn't like me from the get go. I am Cuban-American; have mocha latter skin, as Steph likes to call it and jet black, shoulder length hair. In Mrs. Plum's opinion I am not good enough for her youngest daughter.

Steph and I have known each other since freshmen year in high school. But we never really got talking until the start of senior year, because we had nearly every class together.

I'd never thought that she would say yes, as I asked her out to the movies and I thought I was the luckiest person alive. She is beautiful and so oblivious to the way guys look at her.

I picked her up that night and her mother opens the door and after throwing one glance at me, she flat out refuses to let Steph go out with me. I assured her I would bring her straight home after the movie, but Mrs. Plum still refused.

I left defeated, but as I got into my car, Steph was crouching down in the passenger seat. She climbed out of her window, onto the nearby tree and sneaked into my car, without her mother noticing. I laughed and we took off.

We went to the movies and afterwards for ice cream. Later that night she snugs back into her house, without being detected. I even got a god night kiss. It was a perfect first date.

"It is better this way" She admits and brings me out of the past back to the present.

"If you think that this is better, okay. But don't think I am giving up this easily" I promise her, give her a kiss on the cheek and leave her room. As soon as I close the door the sobbing starts and my heart breaks. I will give her and myself some time to cool off and tomorrow I will come back to make her see that this is bullshit.

* * *

"You look like shit" My cousin Lester states the obvious as I enter my room.

"What are you doing here?" I question as I throw my car keys on the desk and come sit next to my cousin on my bed.

"Tia Maria and your sisters have taken over my house for a beauty day. And I really don't need a manicure, pedicure or my eyebrow….What is wrong with you primo?" Les sits up and looks me straight in the eyes. He can read me like no other, sometimes that is great but in instances like this, where I really don't want to talk about it, it sucks. But I know, he will probe until I get it out, so I may as well tell him.

"Steph is breaking up with me, because her mother doesn't want to pay her tuition if I go with her to Kansas." I sigh and put my head into my hands. "And she just let's her mother dedicate this."

"Man, I am sorry. I hope you guys will work it out. Just make her see that her stupid, ass mother can't tell her what to do anymore." My cousin replies and pounds me on my back.

"I think she made up her mind" I inform him, as the determined look on her face flashes in my mind.

"But that shouldn't keep you from trying to change her mind" Les tell me and then adds." How about this, we will go down to Miami for the weekend, to see Tia Rosa and Tio Louis. Also Jay and Michael got a place together and we crash there."

"I don't know man" I say and get up. I need a break. With our final Exams behind us and the graduation ceremony about a week away, I could use some time away.

"Tell Steph you will talk to her on Monday, when we get back. You two need some time away from each other, to figure out what you want to do!" My cousin replies. I nod and get up to grab my bag.

Les calls our best friends too and Bobby and Tank immediately jump at the opportunity to get some time away.

We get some cheap last minute tickets and fly down to Miami, that evening. As I called Steph she didn't say much and just told me to have a good time.

* * *

"Nah man, I am beat" I wave off Jay's attempt to get me to go out to a night club. The fight with Steph and studying every night for the past two months for the finals, took a toll on me.

"Come on…You can't sit at home moping the entire weekend. We go out tonight, get your mind off it" Les interjects and then adds "You owe me, primo, for last time. So pull up your big boy pants and let's go."

I sigh and nod. I do owe Les. He babysat my little sisters, because I took Steph to the beach for a romantic picnic. "Okay, but only for an hour." I shoot my best friend Tank a glare, which says 'Don't leave me with these idiots alone'. Tank just nods and we all pile into my auntie's car.

"I need some air" I shout at Tank over the music. He nods and points towards the back exit. The club is overcrowded and the music isn't improving my mood at all. At the moment they are playing a disco remix of Britney Spears's 'Hit me Baby one more time' and it hurts my ears.

As we get outside, we see Jay and Michael talking to a couple of guys and two girls are leaning up against the wall next to the door, smoking a cigarette. The two girls immediately strike up a conversation with Tank, but I can tell he is only interested in the girl on the right hand side. She is about 160 cm tall, has brown hair, a pretty face and a slim body, which is wrapped in a dark blue dress paired with some killer high heels.

The good wingman that I am, I strike up a conversation with her friend, who looks a little bored.

_BANG_

_BANG_

_BANG_

_BANG_

I freeze and everything is silent for a few seconds, before the girls start screaming and Tank and I trying to identify where the shots came from.

As we turn around, we see two guys lying on the ground and Michael and Jay running down the alley. I immediately move over to the guys on the ground. "TANK…dial 911" I rip away my shirt and start pressing it to the wound of one of the guys.

* * *

"**I TOLD YOU!**" I shout angrily at the two cops in front of me. "We were outside to get some air. Tank and I were talking to two girls, with our backs to the other guys, as the shots were fired." I repeat, what I have been repeating for the past 8 hours. That's how long I have been at the cop shop. I wasn't allowed to call my parents, a lawyer or anything.

"We found the gun in your car. It is just a matter of time before we get your prints of it! Just confess and we will be able to help you" Detective number 1 says. I don't understand how the gun got into my aunties' car, unless one of the other guys put it there.

"We also have a witness, confirming that you were the one who pulled the trigger" Detective number 2 informs me.

"Who?" I find myself questioning in surprise.

"The two girls, you claim to have talked to, told us that you and your friend were the once who pulled the trigger" Detective number 1 answers.

"If I pulled the trigger, why would I try CPR on them" I question astonished.

"Why don't you tell us?" Detective number 2 replies.

After 10 hours of being questioned, I can't take it any longer. I just want to make them stop, so I sign a confession, because they say they can help me if I do. Turns out they lied. Tank and I are arrested for the murder of two DEA agents. We are Adults now; we will be trialed as such.

* * *

_**Two months later**_

"Jury Foreman, has the Jury reached a verdict?" The judge questions the man, who is standing up.

"Yes, your Honor, we have." The jury foreman replies. The Judge motions for him to go on and the Jury foreman adds "We find Pierre LaPierre and Ricardo Carlos Manoso guilty for first degree murder, to serve 30 years in Prison."

I can't breathe. I will go away for 30 years, for something I didn't commit. We were fucked from the beginning of this trial. They planted the gun into my car, someone paid the two girls off and the coroner testified that he didn't see anything that indicates that CPR was administered.

I turn around as my ankles and wrists are being cuffed and look at my parents and Steph. Steph and my mom are crying and holding hands. I hate that they have to see me like this. They all testified on my behalf, serving as Character witnesses, but nothing helped. Even our state appointed lawyer didn't believe our innocence.

"I will get you out, primo. I promise" Les assures me and I shoot him a wary smile. I don't know what he could do that, our Lawyer couldn't.

* * *

_**A couple of weeks later**_

"Babe, what are you doing here?" I question as I sit down opposite of her. I am at a high security prison and we have to talk over the phone and only get to look at each other through glass.

"What happened to you?" She retorts, taking in my face, which is a little swollen. I got in a fight a couple of days ago. I am the new guy and skinny on top of it, so they are trying me out. Unfortunately Tank is in another block at the moment and can't side with me. I have to take them on by myself.

"Nothing" I reply, as I look around. A few guys are staring at me and then at Steph. I mentally roll my eyes, she is the prettiest girl here and of course that won't go unnoticed. "What are you doing here?"

Tank and I serving our time in the High Security United States Penitentiary Coleman, which is a few hours away from Orlando. Our lawyer tried to get us moved closer to Trenton, but the judge denied that request.

"I wanted to see you" She replies with tears in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have come" I retort harshly.

"Why?" she questions in disbelief of my words.

"Because, I don't love you anymore!" I answer and as the words leave my mouth I regret them instantly. I would have done this sometime soon via a letter, but maybe this way I will get the message across a lot better.

"I don't believe you" She almost whispers through the phone.

"I know you have been sleeping around!" there it is, the final nail, into the coffin of our relationship. I don't want her to wait for me, I want her to go and find someone else. I will be in here for 30 years and she deserves better than this, than me.

"I have NOT" She shouts, which causes a few heads to turn and the guards to inch closer.

"You and Joe…how long have been doing it behind my back? I have seen him stick his dick in you behind the school" I tell her and she looks hurt. _I am so sorry, babe, please forgive me!_ "I don't ever want to see you again, got that?" I add with as much venom as I can, before I get up and let the guard escort me to my cell.

My heart hurts and Steph's shocked and hurt expression will be forever burned into my brain.

* * *

**A/N**

**Loved it? Hated it? Leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

**Thank you to the people who pointed out to me that it didn't make sense if Ranger was called Ranger in this story, since he wasn't an Army Ranger. I tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, but failed. So I have changed it in the previous chapter. My apologies for the confusion.**

**Thank you all for your lovely comments.**

**Stay tuned,**

**Erdi**

* * *

Ranger's POV

_Present day_

Steph is the first to break the silence by asking "How are you?"

"I…I am good. Thanks" I reply. I don't know what else to say. There wasn't a day in the past 10 years that I didn't think about her, that I didn't wonder what she has been up to or how she looked. I told my friends and parents to never mention her again, after I broke it off and they respected my wishes. "How are you?"

"I am fine thank you." She replies with a small smile. "It is good to see you and congratulations on being released."

"How do you know I didn't break out?" I question "You could be talking to a fugitive right now!" I add with a small smirk.

Steph laughs and it is like music in my ears. I haven't heard that sound in a very long time. "Your mother called me after the hearing…"

"CUPCAKE?" A man's voice shouts across the car park on the other side of the street and seconds later no other than Joe Morelli stands in front of me. "There you are, thought you got…" He stops mid sentence as his eyes fall on me. "My…my….If it isn't Manoso…heard the let you out of the slammer."

"Morelli" I reply with a nod and slide my blank face in place.

"Are you ready to go cupcake? Your mother is waiting for that meat" Joe says and slides one hand around her waist and with his other he pushes his flannel shirt away, to make sure I spot the gun and badge attached to his belt.

"Yes…" Steph replies and I hand her the rest of her shopping. "It was good to see you Carlos." She ads and shoots me a small smile.

"You too, babe." I reply without thinking and earn a death glare from Morelli. I stand there and watch them walk across the street and Steph throws another glance over her shoulder. I shoot her another small smile, before turning around and jogging into the direction off the diner.

"Where have you been?" Les questions loudly as I finally enter the Martha's diner.

"Sorry, I ran into someone" I reply shortly and as I look at my closest friends, all of them have an eyebrow raised in question.

"Into some one? Or into Steph?" Tank questions and now it is my turn to raise in eyebrow.

"Steph it is" Bobby ads and picks up his menu.

"I saw her walking past, in the direction you just came from." Les answers my silently asked question.

I just nod and pick up the menu myself. I am starving. Mom wanted to make me some breakfast, but I declined. Now I wish I hadn't. The diner is packed and I highly doubt we will be served soon.

"Hey Les, Bobby…" A young, blonde waitress greets the two guys as she approaches the table. "The usual?"

"You got it darling" Bobby replies with a wink, earning him a slap on the shoulder. "assaulting good paying customers now, are we?"

"Pfft…good paying?" She replies with a small smirk.

"Hey…if it weren't for us, Anna, you'd be out of a job. We keep this place in business" Les retorts with a smirk.

"Stop flirting with my daughter, she has other people to serve!" An elderly woman with grey hair says as she walks past our table with a coffee pot in her hand.

"Who says she isn't flirting with us?" Bobby calls after her and then adds "Anna, let me introduce you to Ric and Tank. They will have two serves of the special, for each of them."

Anna's eyes grow wide and then she shakes our hands. "It is nice to meet you. These two have been talking about you non stop. Congratualions on making it out." She says, writes down the order Bobby just gave her and then leaves.

"So how did it go with Steph?" My cousin questions.

"Good" I reply and shoot Tank a glance.

"What's the special?" Tank asks, immediately cutting of further inquiry about my interaction with Steph.

Turns out the special is a huge plate full of all breakfast goodies. There are pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, lots of bacon, baked beans and hash browns. Unfortunatly I am not able to finish of my second plate and push the rest towards Tank.

"Nah man, I am full. No way I will fit that in too" Tanks pushes my plate to the center of the table and Les immediately pulls the plate towards himself and exchanges it with his empty one.

"Amatures" Les mutters and digs in.

"How are you not a 500 pounds, I will never understand!" His best friends shakes his head.

"I burn it of during the night. You gotta be well fed, if you go ALLL NIGHT LOONG" Les sings the last part, earning a slap on the head from Tank.

"Please….keep your awful singing to yourself" Tank mutters.

"I got something for the two of you" Bobby interjects and puts two boxes on the table. "Your new phones. They are charged and the most important numbers are already saved."

Tank and I both grab a box and pull the phones out. IPhone 5s it says on the box and I tap the screen, but nothing happens. "Uhhh…Bobby?"

As I look at Tank he is equally confused. We have seen these before, on TV, but it doesn't mean we know how to work them. For the next half an hour Bobby walks us through every little detail of the phone.

"Alright what do you guys want to do now?" Bobby questions, after we leave the diner.

"We need to take them shopping man" Les pipes in before I or Tank even have a chance to speak up. "Can't have you running around in 2004's fashion. Plus Tank's clothes are way too small for him!"

I look at Tank and bite back a laugh. I didn't see until now that his pants are at least three sizes too short, his pants are held up by suspenders and his shirt is way to small. The only thing that seems to fit properly are his shoes.

"Not a word" Tank growls at me. He used to be a lot skinnier 10 years ago, but all the working out in prison really bulked him up.

"Shopping it is" I say and we all pile into his 1965 Ford Mustang GT. My cousin is pretty proud of this car. Les is a mechanic by trade and runs his own shop. One of his regular customers was diagnosed with cancer last year and he didn't had long to live. So he gifted the Mustang to Les, who rarely drives it, according to himself.

Les gushed about this car all the time as he came to visit me. And I think if he could marry it, he would, that's how in love he is with it.

* * *

"You are worse than a woman, cuz." I tell him as we walk out of the tenth shop. "And I swear if you drag me into one more shop, I may have to kill you and I will hide your body. Tia Ella will never find you body!"

"That's a bit harsh don't you think? You are hurting my feelings, primo" Les says with mock hurt and clutching his chest.

But thankfully he listens and we leave the mall. We drive by a bottle shop and pick up some beer, before making our way to Bobby and Les's houses. It shouldn't have come to a surprise to me that those two are living next to each other. As we were kids, those two were joint at the hip.

Since Les and Bobby didn't have the money to buy the houses outright, Bobby's parents bought them and my cousin and his best friend are paying them off, to a very, very low-interest rate.

"Hey cuz, how about you come and stay with me?" Les questions, bringing me out of my thoughts. "I know how much it sucks to live with the parents again!"

"And Tank you can come and stay with me" Bobby ads and Tank and I look at each other and shrug.

"Ok" I reply for the both of us.

"Sweet primo, we will get your stuff tomorrow." Les informs me as we enter Bobby's house. It is a spacious two bedroom and three bathroom two story house. The ground floor is open with the kitchen to the right hand side and the big lounge room with floor to ceiling windows at the back of the house. To the left is an office, dining room, toilet and stairs leading down and up.

The first floor has a master bedroom with an en suite bathroom to the right hand side and a guest bedroom with en suite bathroom to the left.

"Where does that door lead to?" I question as we end the tour of the house in the cellar.

"That is a connection to my house" Les answers proudly.

"You got to be joking" Tanks shakes his head in disbelief.

"What?" Les shrugs " If the lady friend you brought back home the night before is still there in the morning, this comes in handy."

I laugh and shake my head. _Unbelieveble. "_Is your house the same?"

"Yes, but it is a mirrored layout." He answers and we make our way to the back yard, which has no barrier between Les's and Bobby's house. There is a deck leading from one house to the other and a pool right in the middle. As we step further into the yard a golden retriever and a german Sheppard come running, flapping their tails and barking all the way.

"Yours?" Tanks asks and kneels down to pet the dogs.

"Nah, took them in temporarily. They belong to Squirt and Mom refused to take in one more dog. So I got stuck with them" Bobby answers and hands us all a beer. As much as he tries to be annoyed by the fact that he is stuck babysitting those dogs, he doesn't succeed. He loves animals, always has.

Bobby is a veterinarian, taking after his dad and granddad. Bobby works for the local animal clinic and volunteers on weekends at the shelter. As we were kids he always had at least one animal tugged away in his bedroom, nursing it back to health..

"How is squirt?" I questions and crouch down as well, to pet the german Shepard. Squirt is actually Sarah Lee, Bobby's youngest sister, hence the nickname.

"She is good. She really wanted to be here, when you guys were released, but she only got notice that she got the internship at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany." Bobby informs us.

"Wow, she must be pretty happy about that" I say and give up and sit down on the grass. The Sheppard is all over me and I have to hand my beer to Les, for it not to get knocked over.

"Yeah, Mom was beyond excited. Not that she isn't anyways, since Squirt is the only one who took after her, professionally." Bobby answers with a small smirk. Rachel and Gabriella are more or less taking after their older brother. Rachel is a veterinarian, but works for an animal rescue company and Gabrialla is a dog trainer.

* * *

"Are you alright, cuz?" Les questions, hands me another beer and sits in the chair next to me.

It is a beautiful summer night. At last 25 degrees and the only sound is coming from a few birds close by. I am not sure how long I have been sitting out here on the deck, behind Les's house. "What's the time?" I question in return.

"Just after 2 am" Les replies. I have been sitting here for at lest three hours. Tank, Les and Bobby went to bed around 10.30 pm, and I was bored inside. "Too quiet?"

"Yeah" I answer and take a sip of my beer. "Thank you."

"For what?" Les questions and turns his face to look at me.

"Getting me out of there and believing in me" I reply.

"I didn't do anything…so no need to thank me" Les waves it off and then stares ahead.

"You didn't rest the last 10 years. Always contacting lawyers and stuff. I wouldn't have made it out, if you hadn't contacted them!" I know my cousin too well. He won't accept my 'thank you'. Les is odd that way. "I owe you big time!"

"You don't owe me anything, just don't go and find Michael and Jay, by yourself." Les replies harshly. He unfortunately knows me well too.

"Any word?" I question.

"I have a couple of contacts telling me that they are in LA." My cousin takes another sip of his beer before looking at me again. "We will find them and we will get answers. They will answer for what they have done and if I have to kill them myself."

"You won't kill anyone. I don't want to you to face murder charges because of those two scumbags." I draw a deep breath. Everyday I have been grateful, that Les and Bobby, were inside the club as it happened. "I have met a few people myself on the inside and some of them owe me a favour."

"Are you gonna seek her out?" Les asks after a long time of silence. There is no doubt to whom he is referring.

"No…she seems happy. Besides she has found someone better, someone who can give her more than I can. Even though that someone is Joe Morelli." I answer.

"Pfftt….They have been on and off more times than I can count" Les says. "You are still carrying a torch for her?"

"Les, I haven't seen her in 10 years, I am not still carrying a torch for her" I reply and get up. My heart screams _'LIAR, LIAR'_, but I ignore it. Les shoots me a disbelieving glare, but I ignore that too. "See you in the morning" I add and leave him sitting out there alone.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note**

**Thank you very much for all your comments, they make my day every time and they mean a lot to me.**

**Thank you all for following and favorite this story.**

**This one is a little on the short side!**

* * *

**Enjoy**

**Steph's POV**

I throw one last glance at Carlos over my shoulder and he smiles at me. He is as handsome as he was ten years ago.

Prison has given him a hard edge, but apart from that he looks the same. And I bet even after all this time he still can make women run into walls with that smile.

I am happy that he is out. I have never doubted his innocence. Even after he told me that he never wanted to see me again, I booked a ticket to Orlando multiple times, but every time I chickened out. I didn't want to see that look on his face again. The look of disgust, anger and sadness.

As long as I was with Carlos there was never someone else, so I don't know where he got that Idea from. I wrote to him a couple of times, but the Letters came back unopened.

It took me a year to start dating again, after he broke up with me.

"You okay, Cupcake?" Joe questions and draws me closer.

"Yeah…I am fine. Let's get Lunch at the crazy Plum house" I shoot him a smile and hope that he believes me. But the truth is that I am not so fine. My heart is pounding like crazy and I really had to suppress a big grin as Carlos called me by my nickname.

"I am surprised they let him out" Joe remarks as we get into our car.

"Why?" I find myself asking.

"From what I have read in the papers and what people at the station have said, the evidence was overwhelming against him. And he confessed" Joe replies as he points the car towards my parents house.

My parents own a house in Chambersburg or Burg. Where gossip is everything, the grass always looks like as if it was cut with nail scissors and behind closed doors everybody has a dirty little secret.

"He is innocent. He could never do such a thing" I reply.

"You are awfully sure about that" Joe retorts and throws me a glance.

"I know him, that's all. He wouldn't harm a fly" I reply and look out the window. Hoping to cut this conversation off.

* * *

As we get to my parents house, my mother and grandmother are already waiting for us on the porch. It seems they have some sort of built in radar, for when one of their children is near.

"Hey mom, Hey grandma" I say and give them both a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey…good you brought the Italian stallion. Good to know there will be some good meat at the table" My crazy grandmother replies and I just roll my eyes. I love her, but she can be a bit little full on at times.

"Let's go inside. Val is already here." My mother says and ushers us into the house. My mother's and my relationship has improved since I went away for college.

I didn't accept her money for tuition, instead I worked my ass off in various bars and restaurants to pay for everything. At the end of my second year, I got a scholarship and it was a free ride from then on.

After I finished school and just came back for a holiday, my mother wanted to rule my life again, but I told her in no uncertain terms to leave me alone, or she would never see me again. Thankfully she came to her senses and butted out of my life.

"Hey Steph" my older sister Valerie comes slowly walking towards me. She is eight months pregnant, with her second child.

"Hey Val, how are you?" I ask and hug her. I haven't seen my sister in ages. She is living with her husband Albert and their five year old daughter Mary Alice in New York. Albert is a nice guy, but sometimes a little too nice. And he often drops food into his lap, he is worse than his daughter.

Being always the good girl, Val went to a local college, got a degree in Home Economics and married Albert right after graduation. Albert is a lawyer for a big firm in New York. The whole family questions how he got that job, since he barely graduated from law school.

But what matters the most is that he adores Val and their child and takes good care of them.

"Ahh you know, I cannot wait to get her out. She constantly kicks my bladder and it is really getting old" Val replies with a sigh.

"Not long, Val…not long" I tell her and then bring the meat into the kitchen. Today we are doing something un-burg like for Lunch. _Gasp…Shock_…We are having a BBQ!

My mother bought my Dad for Christmas a high end BBQ and we are finally testing it out.

"Where is dad?" I question, as I place the meat on the counter.

"Outside with Albert, heating up the BBQ" She replies. "Your dad acted like a little child all morning. He drove me crazy. Had I not stopped him, he would have turned it on at 7am" MY mom throws a glance at me and then adds "…Are you okay?"

"Yes…why?" I question.

"You got that look on your face…as if something just shook up your world" My mother replies.

"I saw Carlos today, Mom" I answer, after contemplating for a moment whether to say something or not. I look at her to gauge her reaction.

"He is out, huh?" My mother asks, without looking at me.

"Yes" I only reply.

"And…?" She shoots me an intense look, that tells me that I won't get away with a bullshit answer.

"There is no 'and'. We talked for a few minutes and then we went our separate ways." I reply and turn away.

"I know, I didn't really support your relationship, but I know it took a toll on you when he went to prison. So just be careful, I don't want you to get hurt again" My mother tells me and I am in shock. _Did she really just say that?_

"Thanks…and I will. Besides that was a long time ago. I am with Joe now and there are no lost feelings between me and Carlos" I inform her, but I know that I am only lying to myself.

Carlos was my first love and I fell so deeply that it hurt a lot when it was over. I swore to myself to never feel that hurt again. I just hope that his reappearance won't open old wounds.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:**

**Thank you once again for your comments. I am happy to see that so many people are reading my story.**

**A special thanks goes out to Jennifer, who keeps asking the right question. ( Jennifer: The next chapter, you will get some answers :D )**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

With one glance at the clock, I realize that only five minutes have passed since I checked the time last.

It's 3.05 am and I am awake, _again_. This is slowly getting old. I cannot sleep. Every little noise wakes me up and I am ready to shank someone.

The other night Les startled me in the kitchen and I came pretty close to stabbing him with a knife, had he not reacted quickly enough.

I sigh and push myself up in bed. I know I won't go back to sleep, so I may as well get up. We are home for 14 days now and everyday I follow the same pattern. Eat, apply for jobs, sleep. And I am slowly going stir crazy.

Les tried, multiple times, to get me out of the house in the evenings, but I always decline. I don't have money and I can't have him pay for my amusement as well, when he already did so much for me.

I get out of bed, pull on my workout shorts, shoes and leave my room. There is no point in putting on a shirt, since it only will be drenched in sweat after my two hour run. On my way out I grab my phone and headphones. Les and Bobby updated Tank and me on the latest Music, and my IPhone is full of new and old hip hop.

I put the headphones in my ears and '_I am not afraid'_ from Eminem is blaring through them, drowning out everything else around me out. I start out slow and run towards the nearby park, before speeding up and doing my laps around the neighbour hood. My feet are pounding on the pavement with the beat of music.

Like every morning my mind drifts to Steph and like every morning I push those thoughts to the back of my mind. She is happy with someone else, even if that hurts a lot, but it is what I wanted to accomplish by breaking up with her.

Back then Joe Morelli never had a chance with her and it wasn't for the lack of trying on his part either. She knew his reputation and was clever enough to stay away from him.

I shake my head and push my self to run a little faster, trying to outrun my thoughts.

I get home two hours later and Les is in the kitchen making breakfast. "Another sleepless night?"

"Yeah" I reply and grab the orange juice out of the fridge and drown it's contends in one go.

"You are running and Tank is over there beating Bobby's punching bags into oblivion." Les says and shakes his head, as he puts our food on plates and hands me one. "Eat!"

"Yes, sir" I smirk and salute him. He throws the kitchen towel at me, which I catch effortlessly. "You are getting slow, cuz!"

"Fuck you" He flips me off and laughs.

Les leaves for work after breakfast and leaves me to clean up his mess. This has also become part of my morning routine. He cooks, I clean.

I shower and get dressed in my best clothes once I am done, since Tank and I have a meeting with Mrs. O'Hara. She is coming all the way from Miami to see us.

* * *

"Mrs's O'Hara, great to see you again" I tell her as I lead her into Les's house.

"Mr. Manoso, Mr LaPierre, how are you doing?" She questions as we sit down at the living room table.

"Doing alright" Tank answers and I nod in agreement.

"The reason I am here today is, to talk to you both about suing the state of Florida for compensation. You can sue them for funds for necessities, medical care and securing affordable housing." She informs us. "Some states award their wrongfully convicted $50 000 per year they were incarcerated."

"Do we have a chance on winning this?" I question. I have read that people were refused compensation, because the state didn't acknowledge any wrongful doing on their part.

"It would become a civil matter instead of a Criminal matter and the rules for that are different. The trial can drag out to three years." She answers honestly.

"That long?" Tanks asks and Mrs. O'Hara nods. "That is insane."

"We would need to prove the states wrongful doing and since you guys confessed, that will be difficult" She tells us.

"I already spent the last 10 years waiting to get out and I don't want to wait another three years to see if I am being awarded money." I answer. One look at Tank tells me that he thinks the same. "And then with no guarantee that we would win. I am sorry Mrs. O'Hara, but I can't do it."

"Same here. I can't go through that again." Tank says.

"Okay…Just if you change your mind, you know where to find me" Mrs O'Hara tells us and stands.

"Thank you… for all you did for us" I am beyond grateful for the Centre of Wrongful Convictions. They have done a lot for us.

"Nothing to thank me for, Mr. Manoso. I am just glad that we were able to get you guys out" She replies and surprises us both by hugging us. "Take care." With that she leaves.

Tank has to work, so he leaves shortly after Mrs. O'Hara. He got a job, with his brother in law, Dale, cleaning windows. Unfortunately Dale just started the business and couldn't employ me as well. He still keeps apologizing for it, even though I told him I am fine with it.

* * *

"Hello, my name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso and I send you my CV a couple of days ago. I was wondering if you could tell me the status of my application." I question.

"Please, hold the line Mr Manoso" The woman from the job agency replies. I stare at the list of places I send my CV to and everything is crossed off, except the last company.

I always got the same bullshit answer. '_We are sorry Mr Manoso, but we aren't hiring at the moment'_ is my least favourite line at the moment. All those jobs I applied to were advertised in the newspaper, just a couple of days ago, but apparently they aren't hiring. _Not hiring, my ass!_

"Are you still there?" The woman questions.

"Yes, I am still here." I inform her.

"I am sorry Mr Manoso, we do not have any suitable job openings for you at the moment. But we will keep your CV on file and if anything comes up, we will pass it on, to potential employers" I take my pen and cross the last name of the list, while she speaks.

"If you don't have any suitable jobs for me, why was a toilet cleaning job advertised in this morning's paper? That would be a suitable job for me, since I don't have any qualifications other my GED" I huff out annoyed.

"I am sorry, but you aren't suitable for that job" She replies with the best manners.

"Why?" I ask.

"Excuse me?"

"Why am I not suitable for that job?" I repeat.

"Because you are a convicted felon, Mr Manoso" I figured as much, but no one had the guts to tell me, except this woman.

"I was declared innocent by the same court that convicted me" I inform her, but I know it won't change a thing.

"I am sorry Mr Manoso, but you were convicted and imprisoned. Our Agency cannot help you, since our clients don't wish people with criminal records as their employees" I feel sorry for her. She isn't the one at fault. The fault lies with our country, the states and the companies, who can't see past someone's criminal record and look at the person behind it.

"Thank you, for being honest. Have a good day" I say and hang up, without awaiting her responds.

"Primo, I told you to come and work for me" My cousin says and I jerk my head around to face him. He snuck up on me again!

"I told you not to sneak up on me. One of these days you are going to have a knife sticking in your gut, because you surprised me" I mutter and release my tight grip on the pen, which I am holding like a weapon. "If I can't find anything at all, I will take you up on your offer."

I don't like to be more of a burden to Les, than I already am. He paid for my lawyer, helped out my parents and he is now letting me stay at his house, for free. There is no chance in hell; I will take a job from him too.

"I am holding you to that, in the meantime try this bar. I heard they hire convicted felons" Les says and hands me a piece of paper with a telephone number and address on it. "Give them a call. Otherwise you can become a male stripper, heard they get paid really well these days."

Les hurries out of the kitchen, as I throw him a murdering look and grab the phone for one last phone call.

"Vinnie's, Connie is speaking. How may I help you?" A woman answers after the second ring.

"Hi, my Name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso. I was wondering if you had any jobs available." I ask, for what seems like the thousands time this week. "Just upfront: I have a criminal record."

"Okay…hold the line" Connie puts me on hold and Christmas music rings through the phone. What business do they have, playing Christmas music in the middle of April? "Yes…we do have something available, but it's not fulltime. It isn't really part time either though" Connie says, as she comes back on the line.

"What does that mean?" I am confused. "And what kind of job is it?"

"You'd be working as a kitchen hand, washing dishes and assisting the bar, with collecting glasses." She replies and adds "You would be working Friday and Saturday nights, when we are the busiest. It pays $9, 50 an hour. You may need to help out at our Club in Newark a few times as well. Do you want the job or not?"

"Uh…yeah sure" I reply, happy to just have scored a job.

"Great. Come in at 4PM next Friday and we will get you to sign the necessary papers. Wear black pants and shoes. We will provide the shirt. You start that night. Sounds good?" Connie questions.

"Great. See you then." I tell her and we hang up.

"How did it go?" Les questions and pokes his head around the corner.

"Start on Friday. Hourly rate" I answer and put the phone back onto its station.

"Good. You coming out with us tonight?" Les asks as he walks to the fridge and grabs some beers.

"Nah man. I am good" I reply, it is the same answer I have been giving him for the past two weeks.

"Ric…seriously come with us. Bobby said he is buying" Les throws me a grin, which tells me Bobby said no such thing, but my primo is desperate to get me out of the house, so he is willing to say or do anything.

"Fine, I will come. But just for a couple" I reply, take a beer and move out onto the deck

"YES" Les shouts and pumps his fist into the air.

"Why is he so cheerful?" Tank questions as he joins us, with his own bottle of beer. He just got off work and is still wearing is grey uniform.

"I am coming out tonight" I tell him.

"About time" My best friend mutters and we clink our bottles together.

"Heard you are buying tonight" I grin at Bobby as he joins us as well.

"Pfft…Les is spreading lies again" Bobby retorts and grins.

"How did go with the lawyer?" Les questions and looks at me.

"She wants us to sue the state for compensation" I inform him.

"But…?" Bobby asks as he sees the look on my face.

"We are not going to do it" Tank answers for me.

"Why?" My cousin questions.

"It could drag out for three years, without a guarantee that we'd win, since we confessed." I answer angrily. "I don't want to go back to court. We have been through this enough the last ten years, Les. The constant appeals and hearings, it was enough."

"I support you with whatever decision you fell, primo. Just think about it okay?" Les says and we fall silent for a long while.

* * *

"I got a job" I inform my friends as we sit in a bar, not far from our houses.

"Congrats" Bobby and Tank say in unison. We all grin at each other before Bobby adds "Where?"

"Vinnie's"

"Wow…how will you…"Bobby starts up.

"Bobby" Les growls in warning and shoots his best friend a glare.

"How will I what?" I raise an eyebrow and motion for Bobby to continue.

"How will you work with that Weasel? He is known for fucking animals of every kind!" Bobby replies, but I suspect that that wasn't what he wanted to say.

"Fucking animals?... Man that's ruff" Tanks mutters and shakes his head. "What kind of man needs to resort to that?"

"A weird one, obviously" Les says and we all nod in unison.

* * *

**Friday**

"Hi, I am looking for Connie" I say to one of the waitresses as I step into Vinnie's.

"Your name?" She questions and blushes. Seems like she likes what she sees. I am wearing a black T-shirt, black trousers my mother fitted for me and black skate shoes. She licks her lips and smiles.

"Ricardo Manoso" I reply and she hurries away.

Minutes later a full figured woman in high-heels, tight jeans and a black shirt walks towards me with an outstretched hand. "Hi, I am Connie."

"Ricardo" I shake her hand and smile. She instantly blushes.

"I am the accountant here. The manager is running a little late, so I will take you back and get you started on the paperwork" She tells me and turns around towards the door she just came out of. She leads me into a spacious room, which looks like the break room. "Sit down here, I will be right back."

I do as I am told and a few minutes later she returns with a stack of papers. "I need you to fill these out. We don't care about the fact that you have a criminal record, but you do need to disclose, what you were convicted of." I only nod and take the pen she is offering me.

"When you are done, bring the papers to my office, just through that door." She adds and points at the door to the right.

"Thank you" I tell her and get started.

15 minutes later as I am just about to enter Connie's office, I stop dead in my tracks as I hear the one voice I did not expect to be here.

"Thank you Connie…" Steph says.

"No worries Steph. What did he want this time? Arguing again about the set up?" Connie laughs.

"Yes. He has no clue how to do these things. Just because he owns the Club, doesn't mean he knows how to run it." Steph sighs and I decide it is time to cut in. I don't want to be caught eavesdropping.

"Connie…"I say just as I enter the office. Steph's eyes widen in surprise, but she quickly recovers and pulls a neutral face in place. "Babe" I nod and hand Connie the papers.

"You two know each other?" Connie questions, looking back and forth between me and Steph.

"You could say that" I answer with a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" Steph questions.

"He is the new hire I told you about" Connie replies before I can.

"Oh…okay…well then let me get you a shirt and then I will show you around" Steph says and quickly leaves Connie's office, with me hot on her heels. "Here, this should fit you." She adds as we get to her office.

"Thank you" I take the black shirt with Vinnie's printed in green on the back. "So you are the manager?"

"Yes I am" She says and watches as I pull my t-shirt over my head. "Sorry…" She mutters and turns around with a blush on her cheeks.

I can't help but smirk at her reaction. I clearly still affect her. I quickly pull my work shirt over my head and take a look around her office. There is a picture of her sister and a small child and one of her parents and grandmother, but I don't spot one of Morelli. "I am done."

"Listen…is this a problem for you?" She questions as she turns around.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"That you are working for me. If that is a problem, I will see if can shuffle around the shifts at the club and you can start there" She answers.

"No, that it isn't a problem for me. Is it for you?" I am not entirely sure if I just lied or not. I have been avoiding all the places, I think she would go to for the past two weeks. Now fate, also known as Lester, has thrown us together and I can't help but see it as a chance to put the past behind us.

"No it isn't." She assures me and shoots me a small smile. "It is good to see you again."

"You too babe…sorry Miss Plum" I smile as she pulls a face.

"Oh no…not that formal. Steph will be fine" She say and walks past me out of the door. "Come on… I will show you around."

Steph introduces me to the whole crew and shows me around the restaurant and bar. The Restaurant and Bar area are separated and on different ends of the building, so the restaurant goers aren't disturbed by the party makers. There is only one hallway connecting the two areas with each other.

"Sometimes we have bands and DJ's playing here on special nights. We also do all kinds of family events." She explains.

"Your job will mainly be in the kitchen, washing dishes. But when the Restaurant closes at 11 pm, I will need you to join the Bar staff, in picking up glasses, cleaning and polishing them. There will be two of you tonight. Julio and you" Steph explains as we walk into the kitchen.

"LULA" She shouts and seconds later a heavy set, black woman with pink highlights in her hair and a pink chef's uniform comes walking towards us. "Lula, this is Car…sorry Ricardo. Ricardo, this is Lula, our head chef."

"Ahhh fresh meat…excellent" Lula says and shakes my hand. "Welcome."

"Thank you" I tell her with a nod.

"Alright I will leave you two…got front of house stuff to do" Steph says and walks out of the doors we just came into. The skirt she is wearing with those high heels, which make her ass look amazing and I can't help but look.

"You know that ass is taken, right?" Lula questions and draws my attention back to her.

"Yes, mam" I reply.

"I am Lula and during business hours chef, but I am no Mam" Lula retorts with a smirk and leads me further into the kitchen.

"This is Julio; he is the dishy you will be working with tonight. He will show you around. But after that you will be on your own. HECTOR?" She calls through the kitchen and a 5ft5 Hispanic male appears, also in a chef's uniform with two teardrop tattoos under his eyes. I have seen a few of those in Prison, to know what they stand for.

"Hector, este es Ricardo. Nuestra nueva cocina (Hector, this is Ricardo, our new kitchen hand)" Lula says and then turns to me. "Hec is my second in command and he doesn't speak English."

"Encantado de conocerlo (Nice to meet you)" I offer my hand and he shakes it. Without another word he turns around and leaves me and Lula alone.

"It takes him a while to warm up to people" Lula explains and I can only relate to that. Prison teaches you to be cautious of people. A new person can turn out to be your biggest threat.

* * *

My shift passes in a blur. There is a lot of information to take in, new people to meet and by the end of the night I am exhausted. It is 3 am as we are finally polish the last rack of glasses; this is usually the time when I get up and not go to sleep. Maybe it will help me overcome my bad sleeping pattern.

"How was your first shift?" Steph asks and I drop the glass in surprise. I didn't hear her coming up behind me. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

I turn around and she smiles at me. "Sorry, I am just a little jumpy. Don't sneak up on me like that again."

"Got it, no sneaking" She replies and bents down to pick up the broken glass.

"Don't…" I say and bent down as well and push her hands away. "I will do it. Don't want you to cut yourself."

I quickly grab the dusting pan and clear away the glass. I can feel her eyes on me the whole time.

"So…how was your first shift?" Steph repeats.

"Good…and long" I smile and throw away the glass.

"Yeah, Friday and Saturday nights usually are." She answers. Suddenly the door to the bar fly's open and none other than Joe Morelli walks through them, stopping dead in his tracks as he spots me behind the bar.

"Manoso…I didn't know you were working here" He says as he walks closer.

"He just started today" Steph answers instead of me.

"Okay then…are you ready to go?" Joe questions, but never takes his eyes of me.

"Yes, come on let's go" She quickly walks around the bar and pushes him towards the door. "Good night Carlos" She calls over her shoulder. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Good night" I shout back.

Ten minutes later I finally get to go home as well. Lula, Hector and Julio, were still there having a drink. They offered me one too, but I had to decline, since I nearly fell asleep on the bar.

I worked in Prison, doing road clean up and later on I worked in the laundry area. It was hard work, but this is different.

As soon as my head hits the pillow I am out cold and don't awake until midday the following day.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note**

**As promised here the next chapter.**

**You know Carlos's side of the story, time to hear what Steph has to say.**

**A big thank you to Jennifer, who asks a lot of questions, which resulted in me having the idea for this chapter.**

**Thank you for all the comments, they make my day.**

**Stay tuned!**

* * *

**Steph's POV**

"Cupcake, why do keep hiring these criminals? " Joe questions as we get into his car.

"Because, they deserve a chance. No one else will hire them." I answer and look out the window. We had this conversation before and I know it will only end in a fight.

"All those criminals in one place aren't good. God knows what they are pushing through your business, or what kind of deals they are making with your customers! You don't know what goes on when you are gone, Steph" Joe shoots back. All he sees is their criminal records; all I see is people desperate for jobs.

"They are good people Joe…In the last five years, since we started hiring people with criminal records, we only had one incident. And that person was let go" I am working myself up into rhino mode, but I don't care. I wish I could make him see my employees in the same light I do. "They all know that I will back them no matter what…. That if they have a family emergency, I am more than happy to do their job, until they screw up. I give them a chance, a chance they deserve."

"Once a criminal, always a criminal cupcake" He tells me in his cop tone.

"That is not true and you know it. Don't they deserve a second chance?" I question angrily. "And in case you forgot…I work for Vinnie, who is married to the mob!"

"They blew their chance the moment they broke the law, which includes Vinnie's father in law. You don't know if Harry is using Vinnie's businesses to scout for new employees." Joe replies. "And Manoso doesn't just have a criminal record…he is a murderer!"

"He is innocent! It was proven so by the court. That is the real issue here isn't it? After all these years, just fucking drop it!" I let out a harsh laugh. "And just FYI, Vinnie isn't stupid. Harry is not allowed to step within two blocks of those businesses."

We both fall silent. I just cannot believe that, after all this time, he still holds a grudge against Carlos. It was a stupid joke, nothing more nothing less.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Carlos, what did you do?" I question as I see the evil grin on his face._

"_I taught Morelli a lesson" He replies and draws me into his side. "He should know better than to hit on you all the time. I warned him…"_

"_What did you do?" I repeat._

"_You will see when we get in there" He says and his grin grows, as he points to the school._

"_Hey beautiful…it was epic…you should have been there, we finally taught the Italian stallion a lesson" Carlos's Cousin Lester says and pulls me away from Carlos and into his arms._

"_Can you tell me what is going on here?" I look at Bobby and Tank, who just joined us, but both shake their heads._

"_Sorry Steph no can do. Don't want to ruin the surprise" Tank says and Bobby nods in agreement._

_As we step through the school doors, I can see everybody laughing and reading the school newspaper. "Give me that" I order Mary Lou, my best friend, who hands me the paper without a comment._

_On the front page it says __**'The Italian Stallion caught in the act with a Lady boy!'**__ With a picture of Joe, with a woman, whose manhood is in full display. "Holy shit…" I mutter and stifle a laugh._

"_That is mean" I say and turn around to Carlos, who only shrugs his shoulder._

"_Like I said, I warned him, he didn't listen, so this made the front page." He answers. "You know that he deserves this!"_

"_Yeah… I know." I know it could have been worse._

_Joe has been trying to get me to go out with him for forever. His mom and my mom set it up, but I told him flat out that I had a boyfriend and he should get lost._

_Joe didn't listen and after telling him 'No' more times than I can count, he wrote 'The Italian Stallion took Stephanie Plum's virginity behind the bleachers' in the school bathrooms, just to get my attention._

_As Carlos saw what Joe had written on the bathroom stalls, he flipped and was ready to give Joe a good beating. I was the one who told him not to and that Joe wasn't worth it. Well apparently my boyfriend found a different way to get back at him._

"_Babe, I told him this would go public, should he ever approach you again." Carlos tells me and draws me into his arms._

"_He didn't really approach me…" I note._

"_I know smart ass…but writing those lies on the walls, classifies as approaching in my books." He retorts and grins._

_What Joe wrote isn't true and I am glad that Carlos trusts and believes me. Not many would have._

"_How did you do it?" I ask out of curiosity._

"_We broke into the school last night and changed the editing for the paper" Lester replies proudly._

"_I hope this works" I say and look at Carlos._

"_It will Babe, if not I will borrow big blue from your dad and run him over" my boyfriend replies with a small smirk._

"_You are crazy" I kiss him until we hear someone clearing his throat._

"_We gotta go to class, you guys can continue this later" Tank huffs out and jerks his head towards our class room._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"Just drop me off at home Joe" I tell him and continue to stare out of the window. As I get home, I lay awake and think about the past, for a long time. Sometime after 6 am I finally fall asleep.

* * *

"WHITE GIRL…Are you in there?" Lula is banging on my door and I quickly get up and open the door for her. "I thought you weren't home or dead!" She huffs out and stumbles into my apartment with two large cups of coffee and a big box of doughnuts.

"I am sorry….I forgot to set my alarm last night" I tell her and make space on the couch for her.

"Don't worry…you have been working your ass off, you needed the sleep" She informs me and I roll my eyes. She works just as much as I do, but continues to lecture me all the time.

"Yeah…yeah" I reply and let myself drop on the couch.

"How do you know Ricardo?" Lula is like always, straight to the point. She doesn't beat around the bush and doesn't care if the other person likes it or not. And apparently she picked up on the fact that Carlos and I know each other.

"It's a long story" I reply and hope to get away with it.

"We have enough time before work… spill" She orders and gets comfortable on my couch. Today she is wearing Pink spandex, to match her hair and a black work shirt. How she always manages to squeeze herself into those tight Spandex, is even a mystery to me.

"He was my boyfriend in high school" I reply and Lula squeals.

"He is _that_ Ricardo…god I didn't make the connection at all. Now that explains the looks you guys were throwing each other all night long" She says with a grin. Lula only knows that I had a high school boyfriend, with who things ended badly. "What happened?"

"He went to prison" I say.

"Come one skinny girl…don't make me pull everything out of you" Lula rolls her eyes. I should have known better than to give her short answers.

"We had this huge fight the day he was arrested. It was stupid really…" The only person who knows the full story is ML. I have never told anyone else about this and it seems like now that I have started talking I cannot stop. "We were fighting a lot, it was always about something different, minor things really, and I always started them.

I don't really know why and we always made up afterwards. The week before he got arrested, I got a letter from Kansas, telling me I had been accepted. Mom said Carlos, uhm Ric, wasn't allowed to come with me or she wouldn't pay for college.

I pondered it over and over and I figured it was better if we'd split up. My sister's high school love was long distance and it didn't take long for them to split. And I figured I would spare us the same fate. I didn't understand why he was with me in the first place, when he could have any pretty girl in school." I sigh and pick a doughnut from the box. Lula keeps quiet and waits me out. I wasn't the prettiest girl nor the smartest and back then I didn't get what Carlos say in me.

"So we had this massive fight about it and he told me we could make it. That he would work his ass off to help me through school, screw my mother. As he left that afternoon, he told me he wouldn't give up.

He flew to Miami, with his friends, that day to give us sometime away, some time to think. There was as hooting at the club they were at and Ric and his best friend were arrested for the murder of two DEA agents. And it was my entire fault." Tears well up in my eyes, as I admit this out loud for the first time. I try to blink them away. To this day I regret ever starting that fight, things could be different now. He wouldn't have spent ten years in prison.

"There is nothing you could have done, Steph" Lula says and hands me a tissue. As I look at her confused she adds "You said that out loud."

"I really need to work on that…" I sigh.

"What happened then?" Lula probes.

"Well they were convicted and send to prison. Before I moved to Kansas I went to see him. He accused me of cheating on him with Joe. His exact words were '_I have seen him stick his dick in you behind the school'_" Even now his words sting.

"And did you?" Lula asks.

"NO" I cry out, jump of the couch and start pacing the room. "I don't know where he got that from. There was never anyone else but Carlos, while we were together anyways. Before him was Richard 'The dick' Orr and I lost my virginity to him, but apart from that there was no one else. I loved him and he goes around accusing me of that shit" Ten years of pend up emotion start flowing out of me.

"I was so angry, but I send him a couple of letters from school anyways, but they always came back unopened." I stop pacing and turn to look at her. "I don't know where he got that idea from, nor do I understand why he did this."

"Is he the reason why you won't commit to Joe?" Lula asks and I wince. I didn't expect her to voice the one question that has been going around my head for quite some time.

"I don't know…Joe and I…its stable, it's good. Why change that?" I question and sit back down on the couch.

"Well… because it would be the next step?" Lula answers and takes a doughnut out of the box. "You have been together for two years now. There are people that get hitched after half a year."

"It's not like he hasn't ask…" I confess and Lula's eyes grow in surprise.

"You said no?" She questions.

"No, I didn't say no, but I didn't say yes either" I answer honestly.

"You built up walls you can't take down huh?" Lula says and sums it up in one simple sentence. I have erected these walls to protect myself. And not even Joe has been able to make them crumble, not even a little bit.

"I fell in love, hard. I thought he is the love of my life and then this… I would have waited, I would have fought for him, but he pushed me away and it hurt….I am afraid that if I let Joe in, he will just crush my heart as well." I admit. I pick up my cup of coffee, which has long gone cold, and take a sip.

"Girl you gotta figure it out. You can't string Joe along like this" Lula says and draws me into a hug.

"I know" I mumble and close my eyes.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note**

**I like to Thank Angie Williams on Fictionpad for her help with the legal stuff. I try to make it as truthful as possible. If I got something wrong my apologies.**

**Thank you once again for all your comments. And thank you to those who stuck with me through Postcards. IF you are here reading this, thank you for your support!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

"_Haaaaaa….STOP STOP…Carlos PLeasssssseeeeee" Steph giggles and tears are running down her cheeks. I let go of her feet and drop down next to her on the bed. "You are mean" She says and hits me playfully on the chest._

"_Not mean…I just like hearing you laugh" I answer honestly and draw her in for a kiss. "But next time, don't scream like that, when the window is open, don't want the neighbours calling the cops, because they think I am raping you in here" I chuckle._

"_Ohh that wouldn't be good. It would be all over the Burg by dinner time." My babe pulls a face that makes me laugh._

_I pull her on top of me, so that she is straddling me and I can admire her from below. "You are beautiful you know" I grin and she blushes._

"_Is that so?" She teases and rocks her hip against my already hard dick. This is what she does to me, by just laughing._

"_Yes, it is" I assure her. She smiles and tries to look unsuspicious as she moves her hand under my shirt, to my arm pits. One of the only places I am ticklish. "If you do that…you will pay big time for it" I throw her my wolf grin and she gulps, contemplates for a few seconds before starting to tickle me._

_I flip us over effortlessly, so that I am hovering above her, and start tickling her sides. Soon enough she starts screaming again and begging me to stop. "You want me to stop?"_

"_Yes….Yes…." She manages to answer between laughs._

"_I will have mercy this time…" I grin at her. She is beyond beautiful. Her curly hair is all over the place, giving her a crazy look and her face is flushed from laughing. I bent down and kiss her softly on the lips. "Next time you may not get so lucky…" I whisper in her ear and she shivers._

_I move my hand further under her shirt and pull it off in one fluid motion. "Hey…we are supposed to be studying" She exclaims, but her eyes dilate as I run my thumb over her exposed nipples._

"_This is studying….for biology" I retorts as she pulls me down for another hot kiss._

I wake up, covered in sweat and a hard on with an image of Steph riding me burned into my mind. I ditch the sweaty sheets and make my way to the bathroom. Once in there I turn on the water in the shower and soap myself. The image won't go away, so I take matters in my own hands and start to jerk off.

"Let me take care of that" Jess says and wraps her hands around my torso and finally around my dick. I place my hand on the wall to steady myself while she works her hands up and down my manhood.

"Dios" I mutter, quickly turn around and push her on to the opposite wall, with her back facing me. She widens her stand, lifts her perfect little ass a little so I can enter her wet centre in one fluid motion.

Before last night I hadn't had sex in 10 years and the first time I came within a couple of seconds of entering her. I am glad I am back to my old self.

"Who is she?" Jess asks as she watches me get dressed from her bed. I met her last night in a club in Philly and she took me home. Jess knows that this is just a onetime thing.

"I don't understand" I reply, even though I know exactly who she is referring to. I feel like an asshole waking up next to her and having a hard on, because I dreamed of Steph.

"The woman you call Babe. You girlfriend?" She probes further.

"Ex" I answer honestly.

"You said her name multiple last night" She says, making me feel even more like an ass.

"I am sorry…I didn't mean to." I tell her.

"When did you guys break up?" She questions.

"Are you a psychologist or something?" I narrow my eyes at her making her laugh.

"Nah…Just curious why you are still saying her name, while having sex with another woman!" She replies and gets off the bed to get dressed. "I am a law major, so being able to read people comes in handy."

"We split 10 years ago" I answer.

"Wow…" She whistles and gets dressed herself.

I feel like a major asshole as I leave her flat, but it is not like I can help it. I wasn't even aware of the fact that I called out 'Babe'.

It's been three weeks since I started at Vinnie's and Steph and I haven't been alone since that night of my first shift. Someone is just always close by. I am not sure if they do it on purpose or not.

I take my phone out of my pocket and call my best friend. "You guys still at the hotel?"

"Yeah…just having breakfast" Tank replies and hangs up.

We came to Philly yesterday, because we have an appointment with a PI at Lunch time today. We want to hire him to find Jay and Michael. In the last few weeks we have tried to find them ourselves, but were unsuccessful.

Gordon Webster is ex-army and an ex-Philly PD detective. Webster was recommended to me by Julio, the other dishy at Vinnie's. _"If you need to find someone or something Gordon Webster is your guy"_ He told me _"He dug up shit on my Ex-wife, I didn't even know was there."_

* * *

_**Flashback´**_

_(A couple of weeks ago)_

"_Shit that is rough" Julio replies after I told him that I just spend 10 years innocent behind bars._

"_Yeah…" I only shrug. We had a busy night at work and are now sitting at the backdoor of Vinnie's with a couple of beers. "Especially when you try to find a job. Apparently it is not enough that you were proven innocent, it is still on your record."_

"_You didn't get you records expunged?" He questions. Julio is a pretty likable guy. He talks, a lot, but he gives it to you straight and doesn't beat around the bush._

"_I was found guilty…don't think I can do that" I reply. "Surely my lawyer would have said something."_

"_Well…the man I shared my cell with was exonerated. I can get you in touch with him. He will know more about that, than I do" Julio informs me._

"_Yeah sounds good" I tell him and Julio immediately messages his friend. Minutes later his phone beeps with the answer._

"_He will come by after our shift finishes tomorrow." He says and pockets his phone._

"_Sweet…I will tell Tank."_

"_Hi, Ricardo" I say and shake the other man's hand._

"_Michael" The man replies. He is as tall as I am, Asian, has a statue like Tank and he looks not a day over 30._

"_Tank" my best friend introduces himself and shakes Michael's hand._

"_Nice to meet you" He replies and we all sit down at the bar. It was a quiet Saturday night and we were able to get out of work earlier. So we changed plans and met up at a small bar not far from Vinnie's._

_We chat for a while, before I bring the conversation to the important subject. "Julio said that we may be able to get our records expunged?"_

"_With what evidence were you found not-guilty?" Michael questions. He was serving a life sentence for raping and killing a woman, until they exhumed the body and found that he didn't do it._

"_They exhumed the bodies and found our spit from when we administered CPR, as well as their Ribs were rushed. And a witness came forward too." Tank answers._

"_Since you were found innocent through DNA, you can get your record expunged." Michael tells us and adds "You need to go in front of the same judge that set you guys free. I don't understand why your lawyer didn't petition the court immediately."_

"_We will give her a call tomorrow" I assure him._

"_Are you guys suing the state?" Michael probes._

"_Nah…would take too long. Plus there is no guarantee that we would win" Tank says and takes a sip of his drink._

"_You should think about it though…You can do a lot with the money they are giving you. The money I got pays for law school." He replies. "How are you guys doing with housing and stuff?"_

"_We live with friends, he's got work at Vinnie's and my brother in law is employing me" Tank informs him._

"_You are lucky that you have that. I know a few men from NYC, who paroled without so much as pointers as where to go or what to do. There wasn't any help for them." Michael tells us._

_**End of flashback**_

The next day we called Mrs. O'Hara, who helped us to get our records expunged the following week. I will keep working for Vinnie's for a while, since I don't know what I want to do with my life yet.

* * *

"Ahhh the walk of shame" Les laughs at me as I sit down at their breakfast table. "Here…you must be hungry!" He adds with a knowing grin and pushes his full plate towards me. I flip him off, but take his food nevertheless.

"Spill…" Les says.

"I did all last night and this morning" I reply and laugh as my cousin spews his coffee all over the table and coughs until he is beet red.

"Serves you right, wanting to get the dirty details out of Ric" Bobby says with a laugh and pounds his best friend on the back.

* * *

"Mr. Webster will see you now" The secretary says and leads us into a small meeting room. "Can I get you guys some coffee?"

"Yes please" We all reply in unison and she leaves laughing.

"Hello, I am Gordon Webster" A bold, black man says as he enters the room a few minutes later. He is roughly in his 50 and looks like he could take out Tank with one hand.

"Ricardo Manoso, we spoke on the phone" I say shake his hand and then introduce the others.

"Nice to meet you. How can I help you guys?" Webster questions and opens his notepad.

"We like you to find two people" I answers. "My cousins, to be precise."

"Okay…got a name?" Webster asks and starts writing.

"Jay and Michael Reyes." Les answers instead of me. "But our Aunt and Uncle adopted them. We don't know their given names though."

"Those will be easy enough to find out. Tell me the names of your Aunt and Uncle!" Webster requests.

"Rosa and Louis Reyes" I reply.

"When did you see them last?" Webster asks and writes down their names.

"10 years ago in Miami. They used to live there" Les informs him.

"And why are you choosing to find them now? After such a long time?" Webster looks at us with a blank face. I know he will know if we are feeding him bullshit or not.

"Jay and Michael let Ricardo and me take the fall for the murder of two DEA agents." Tank answers, obviously coming to the same conclusion as I did.

"And what are you going to do when I find them?" Webster probes further.

"Hand them over to the cops" Tank answers. We haven't talked about what we are going to do when we find them, but that seems like the most logical answer at the moment.

"Okay then. I will look into this. I have the form you filled out with my receptionist and I will get back to you when I find something." Webster stands and shakes each of our hands, before seeing us out.

"Thank you" I say with a nod as we leave the offices.

"Is that really what we are going to do?" Bobby looks at me through the rear view mirror.

"We didn't stay in what state we are going to deliver them" Tank replies instead of me making me grin.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note**

**Thank you all for your comments. They mean a lot.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Carlos's POV**

**Two days later**

"Sorry I am late…I slept in" I say to Lula as I come rushing into the kitchen.

"No worries, service hasn't even started yet." She replies without looking up from the carrots she is chopping and ads "Steph said she wanted to see you when you get in."

"Okay" I nod and head into the direction of the offices. "Steph in?" I question as I pass Connie's office.

"Yeah, go right in" Connie replies and then concentrates back on the screen in front of her.

"Knock…knock" I say as I round the corner into Steph's office.

"Hey" A smile appears on Steph's lips as she sees me standing in the doorway. "Close the door please."

I do as she asked and sit on the chair she just freed from a mountain of paperwork. "What's up? Am I fired?"

"WHAT?" Her head snaps up and she immediately shakes her head. "Oh…no…I am sorry I gave you that impression…It's quite the opposite actually." She rambles and laughs. "I have heard that you have been helping out the bar staff when they were swamped, by making drinks?"

"Yeah I did. I had nothing to do…so" I shrug my shoulders and look at her. "Shouldn't I have done that?"

"No…yes I mean…You should have done that. Actually I am quite happy about that. In two weeks we will be down a bartender. Alex quit, because he is moving to the west coast to study. And I think you would be an excellent replacement. What do you think?" Steph looks at me with a curious expression.

"What about my shifts in the kitchen?" I ask. I would love to pick up more shifts.

"Well the bartending position is full time and we would have to find someone else to replace you in the kitchen." She replies, looking at the roster which is hanging on the wall behind her. "You would finish this week in the kitchen and then Alex will train you before he leaves for the next two weekends. After that you will come on fulltime."

"Full time sounds good to me. Can really use the money" I answer and Steph turns back around.

"We will pay you $ 10.50 an hour. The Tip money that is handed to you, you can keep, tip that is being paid via the cards will be split between you guys at the end of the month" She is all business at the moment and I like it. So professional and grown up, a side I didn't have the chance to see before I was locked up.

"You got yourself a new bartender" I assure her and get up.

"Thank god!" She exclaims and shakes my hand. "I didn't think we would find someone to replace him. So thank you."

"Thank you" I reply and make my way out of her office.

"Have a good shift" she calls after me, making me smile. "Oh and Carlos?"

I turn around and see her head pop out of her office door. "Yeah Babe?"

"If you know someone who is desperate for a job, give them our number." She says and draws her head back.

* * *

**Steph's POV**

**A week later**

"Here you go, white girl. I think this apron will suit you better" Lula says and hands me a black apron. Hector is standing next to her grinning.

"Su idea? (Your idea?)" I question as I pull the apron over my head and tie it around my waist. It is a black apron that has '_Kitchen Bitch'_ in big, red letters written on the front.

"No, eso era todo Lula (No that was all Lula)" Hector replies with a grin and Lula slaps him on the arm.

"Ni que… (As if)" Lula huffs out, with a grin of her own. "He querido poner '_advertencia, sous chef'_, Pero Héctor pensaba que esto era mucho mejor (I wanted to put '_Warning, sous chef'_, but Hector thought this was funnier)."

"HEY, no soy mal cocinero…Que quemó el asado no fue culpa mía! (HEY, I am not a bad cook, that burned roast wasn't my fault!)" I exclaim and start laughing uncontrollably as I remember how much smoke was in my apartment that day. The firemen were called by one of the neighbours and they rocked up in full gear. My two lovely friends remind me of it, at every chance they get.

"Todo lo que te dices a ti mismo (Whatever you tell yourself)" Hector laughs and ads "Ahora ir a trabajar (Now get to work)" and points at the mountain of dirty dishes, before walking away, still laughing.

"He is going to enjoy bossing me around, isn't he?" I question my best friend.

"Yes…we all going to" She winks at me and leaves me be.

I turn around and roll my eyes. I worked as a dishy, when I first got to Lawrence, Kansas. Half a year later they promoted me to waitressing. They were quiet happy to take me out of the kitchen, because I was also responsible of desserts and entrees and most of them didn't turn out the way they were supposed to.

I have to go back to my roots this and next weekend, since the new guy cannot start until the end of the month and with Carlos being trained as a bartender, we are short on staff. But I don't mind. It gives me time to get out of my office for a while and spend time with all our employees. I enjoy being around them and the weekends are the craziest, since everybody has to work and we are never short of a practical jokes.

"I almost didn't recognize you without your high-heels and tight skirts" Carlos remarks from behind me and I turn around, accidently taking the hose with me and soaking his pants in the process.

"SHIT… I am sorry…that was an accident" I tell him and quickly handing him a towel. As I look up, I see him grin at me.

"If you wanted me to get me wet, you should have said so. I know a few different ways to make this more enjoyable" Carlos replies with a wink and I can feel myself blush. "What are you doing in the kitchen?"

"Would it be hard to believe if I told you I was helping out with the cooking?" I question with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes" He replies and walks away with a grin. "I haven't forgotten the incident at Point Pleasant" He calls over his shoulder as he walks through the doors leading to the bar.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_You are going to cook?" Carlos questions and looks into the bags which contain the food I just bought._

"_Yes" I reply confidently. I have seen my mother make this goulash a thousand times, I am pretty confident that I can replicate it._

"_I have never seen you cook, are you sure you don't want my help?" He asks drawing me into his arms._

"_Yes, I am sure. You always cook for me and I want to cook our anniversary dinner." I reply. It's our one year anniversary and we are at Point Pleasant. Carlos rented a house at the beach for the week and surprisingly we haven't fought once since we got here a few days ago._

"_Babe, we can easily go out and have something to eat. Point Pleasant has many options" He tells me._

"_No…I want to do something nice for you, since you already got us this house." I answer and step out of his arms. "Now go and take your sexy self out of the kitchen. I cannot let you distract me!"_

"_All right I am going" He huffs out, raises his hands in defeat and gives me one last kiss, before walking out onto the deck._

_An hour and a half later the food is finally ready and the kitchen a mess. But I don't care as long as it will taste nice._

"_Hey, dinner is ready" I tell him as I step out on the deck too._

"_Great, I am starving" He answers and jumps up from his seat. "Let's eat."_

_I quickly set the outside table and we both sit down, helping ourselves to the food._

_I put the first spoonful in my mouth and I quickly have to turn around so that I won't spew it all over the table. It is disgusting. "Oh no….Oh NO." I mutter and Carlos comes to sit next to me on the bench. I carefully look at him, but he too has an expression on his face, that tells me that that food isn't edible. "I am sorry…I am so, so sorry. I really thought I could do it."_

"_Doesn't matter Babe. We will go somewhere to eat. Fish and chips?" He asks and helps me stand._

"_You are too good to me" I murmur and kiss him with all I have._

"_Right back at ya" He replies and walks away from me, to lock up the house and grab our things._

"_I can't believe I ruined dinner" I tell him a while later, as we are sitting at the beach._

"_I will never forget the expression on your face" Carlos laughs and draws me closer._

"_Excellent" I mutter, but cannot help the grin spreading across my face. "You will never let me live this down, won't you?"_

"_Nope…never" He pops the 'P' and grins at me. "I have something for you."_

"_I thought we said no presents?" I question._

"_I must have been out of it as I agreed to that." Carlos says and hands me a rectangular box. As I open it, I gasp. The box contains a golden necklace with a small amber heart._

"_You are crazy. This must have cost a fortune." I say as he takes the necklace out of my hands and puts it around my neck._

"_I have worked a lot with my dad, so don't worry about it. You like it?" He shoots me a small smile and draws me back into his arms._

"_It's perfect." I assure him and add "I have something for you too."_

"_I thought we said no presents" He repeats my statement from earlier with a grin._

"_Yeah…I must have not been listening" I shoot back and hand him the square present box._

"_You didn't have to buy me anything" Carlos says as he opens the box. "No way…" He looks at me in shock and a smile spreads across my face. "How did you get your hands on one of these?"_

"_I found it at a yard sale. I know it isn't as valuable what you gave me, but I thought you would like it." I answer and he draws me back against his side._

"_You have no idea, how valuable this will be in the future!" He assures me and stares back down into the Box. "Why would anyone get rite of a signed Picture of Biggie Smalls and Tupac?"_

"_I first thought it wasn't an original, so Dad helped me to get it verified in New York. It is the real deal" I assure him and I am blasted with the 200 Watt smile, which makes other women run into walls._

"_Best present ever" He kisses me and quickly pulls me out of the sand. "We gotta go home right now…or we risk getting arrested for indecent behavior."_

"_Lead the way" I laugh and let him pull me towards our beach house._

_End of flashback_

* * *

"I think that pan his clean enough" Hector whispers in perfect English into my ear, bringing me out of my thoughts. No one, except from his closest friends, knows that he is capable of speaking English.

I poke my tongue out and hang the clean pan on the drying rack on the wall. With the other I touch the necklace, through my shirt. That was the last good memory I have of us, before it all went to shit.

* * *

**Carlos's POV**

"That's the last of it" I inform Steph, as I put the last rack of glasses in front of her. It's 3 am and we are almost done.

"You just enjoy bossing me around, huh?" She questions with a laugh and grabs another glass to polish it.

"Just a little bit" I grin and pick up the wet cloths again to wipe down the bar. Working with her today, was surprisingly easy. As she finished in the kitchen and helped us out at the bar, we fell kept the mood light. We kept teasing and bantering with each other.

"Payback is a bitch, Carlos" She grins.

"You and I both know that you won't boss me around or anyone else…you are just too much of a softy for that" I retort and her eyes widen in surprise.

"Did you just call me a big softy?" She questions in a pissed of tone, but her eyes tell me she is only kidding.

"I believe I did" I wink at her, turn around and to walk to the other end of the bar, to clean that part. The bar is an L-shape and runs along the back of the kitchen.

"SHIT" I hear her curse and I quickly round the corner to see what happened. All I see is the blood dripping from her hand and I immediately rush over.

"What happened?" I ask and take the rest of the wine glass she is holding, out of her hand.

"Stabbed myself with that stupid glass. I told Vinnie not to buy them, because they brake easily…but no, he had to go and buy them. Stupid, little weasel" Steph rambles on.

"Let me have a look" I carefully pull the towel, which she is holding to her wrist, away to inspect the wound. "I think a bandage will be enough. Don't think that will need stiches." I tell her and warp the towel back around her wrist. "Come on, sit down here and I will get the first aid kit." I guide her to a bar stool and run into the kitchen to get the kid. The kitchen staff has left long ago and Alex is getting new stock out of storage with Julia, the other bartender. At least what he told me he is doing. Everybody at Vinnie's knows that those two are shagging their brains out on a regular basis. I believe that if I walk into the storage room right now, I will find them with their pants down.

"Are you going to be sick?" I ask her as I get back with the first aid kid. She looks a little pale and that worries me.

"It's just the blood…" Steph replies. "A little is fine, but so much is making me a little queasy."

"Let me just patch you up and then we will get some air, okay?" I ask and un-wrap the towel again. Thankfully she didn't hit the artery and only stabbed herself in the thump muscles of her right hand.

"This will sting a little" I warn her softly, as I put some of the brown anti-septic crème on the wound, after I cleaned it out. I have a hard time concentrating on what I am doing, with her sitting so close. She smells of food, soap and her sweet perfume and it is doing something to my lower anatomy, that I'd rather not let her see.

"Mhhhh" She whimpers as the crème touches the wound and bites down on her lower lips.

I quickly wrap her hand with a white bandage and then look at her. She has a little more color in her face, but it still isn't back to normal.

"Thank you" She says and looks down to wear her hand is resting in mine.

"You are welcome…but maybe stay away from the evil glasses…I think they are out to get you" I reply and a grin spreads across her face. "Maybe you are better off staying in your office."

"I thought that…" She starts up, as the doors open and none other than my cousin walks through them, with Tank and Bobby in tow.

"BEAUTIFUL" My cousin Lester has an impeccable timing, as usual. Steph withdraws her hand immediately and turns around to greet him, disregarding whatever she was just about to say.

"Les" Steph grins and is pulled into a hug, by Lester.

"I figured it was time to see how my primo is doing at work…Is he behaving himself?" Les says and I shoot him a murderous glare, as Steph turns to greet Bobby. I am no fool to think that they didn't stay in touch after we broke up. Les and Steph always got along like a house on fire and I can see that hasn't changed.

"Hi Tank" She says and gives him a finger wave.

"What? No hug for me little girl?" He questions and pulls her into his big arms.

"TANK…I need to breathe!" Steph exclaims and laughs as Tank let's her go immediately.

"Lula still here?" Les aks and peaks through the open kitchen doors.

"You know Lula?" I raise an eyebrow curiously. It shouldn't surprise me, after all he was the one who gave me the number for Vinnie's and threw Steph and me back together. I have yet to talk to him about that, since I am still not sure if I should be mad at him or grateful.

"Of course he does. He eats her quiet often with his various Lady friends." Steph grins at Les and with one glance at the clock her eyes grow in surprise. "Wow…It's already late…can I go Boss?" She questions as she turns around to me with a smile.

"I dunno… I think the fridges need a good cleaning and the shelves could use a dust too!" I grin at her.

"Ehhh…" She pulls a face and takes of her apron. "That may be a task for tomorrow night." With another round of hugs and a finger wave for me she leaves the bar area.

"You and I still have a bone to pick" I hiss towards Les and walk behind the bar.

"What did I do?" Les frightens innocence and I look at Bobby.

"You in on it too?" I only question and Bobby has at least the decency to look somewhat guilty.

"Les's plan" Bobby replies and points at his best friends.

"Thanks for ratting me out, bro" Les mutters, shooting Bobby a glare.

"And what do you think the outcome of your little plan will be, huh?" I question and put three beers on the bar for them.

"Hey Ric…you done?" Alex questions as he pops his head around the corner.

"Almost" I answer.

"Alright… I will start locking up then." Alex answers and disappears.

I turn around and only raise an eyebrow at Les asking him silently to answer my question.

"She isn't happy with the cop and you two still have unfinished business. If she doesn't take you back, at least you get closure and can move on" My cousin answers and Tank slaps him on the back of his head.

"You should stay out of this Les" Tank mutters and takes a sip of his beer.

And I agree with him. As much as I like being around Steph it also pains me. That she even still speaks to me after I made up that lie of her and Morelli, is a small miracle.

My hand still tingles from her touch and I know that I am in way to deep. Maybe Les is right too. I need closure so that I can move on.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note**

**A Guest Reviewer called Angie posted this on the lasted chapter: **_**FORGET CLOSURE! Take her and RUN!**_

**I'd like to thank Angie for that, because I had to laugh for a good ten minutes.**

**Of course I want to thank the rest of you for reviewing too. Those comments mean a lot to me.**

**I am sorry for the long wait. Work hasn't been going well and it made me grumpy. So everything I wrote was for the trash.**

**I want to apologize for the confusion regarding Ric's name in this story. Out of habit I posted always Ranger's POV, where it should have said Carlos's pov.**

**Also someone asked me why Steph calls him Carlos, where as everybody else calls him Ricardo/ Ric?! For me only the person he loves can call him by his middle name and maybe his parents/ close family, whereas friends and acquaintances will need to call him by his first name. Hope this makes somewhat sense.**

**This chapter is again on the short side. Sorry about that, but I had to write this as a filler chapter. Hope you still like it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Steph's POV**

"Hey…how are you?" I question as I pick up the phone.

"Good good…listen cupcake; I can't make it to Dinner tonight." Joe replies.

"You are going under?" I ask and feel somewhat relieved. Lately things haven't been quiet good between us.

"Yes…and when I get back…uhmm we need to talk." Joe informs me and I can hear some sadness in his voice. I think we both know where that talk will lead to.

"I know…Can't we talk today? I can cancel dinner!" I want to get this over with, as quickly as possible.

"Sure, I will be over in an hour" He hangs up without as much as a goodbye.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Two days earlier_

"_Manoso and you looked quite cozy in there" Joe says from behind me, making me jump as I walk out of the backdoor of Vinnie's._

"_What do you mean?" I question and place one hand over my heart to calm myself down._

"_The way you two where sitting together in there, so close…what is going on between the two of you?" Joe asks harshly and steps a few steps closer. I can smell the alcohol from where I am standing, hoping he will not make a big scene._

"_Are you drunk?" I ask, still frozen to the spot._

"_I just had a couple with Big Dog" Joe answers and steps closer. "So what is going on between you and Manoso?"_

"_Nothing is going on between us, Joe" I look him straight into his eyes, willing him to see the truth behind my words._

"_I don't believe you. The way he was looking at you…like he wants to have you for dinner" Joe snarls._

"_There is nothing going on….hold on…Did you spy on me?" I can feel my temper rising._

"_I wanted to come in and pick you up, as a surprise, but you two looked busy with each other" Joe answers and he doesn't need to speak out what he is implying._

"_He bandaged my hand" I raise my voice and show him my hand. "By the way I am fine, thanks for asking!"_

"_He is still in love with you… even a blind man can see that" Joe says quietly, blowing my anger away. "And I think you love him too."_

"_Joe…" I sigh, not knowing what to answer. Do I love still love Carlos? I don't know. Are there still unresolved feelings? Sure._

"_Sort out your own head Stephanie. I will see you in a few days" Joe presses his lips to my temple and walks away without saying another word._

_End of flashback_

* * *

I didn't fall asleep that night. I sat on my bed all night, starring into nothingness, trying to determine what I felt and for whom. Lula's word kept going through my head '_Girl you gotta figure it out. You can't string Joe along like this'_

I avoided Carlos like the plague on Saturday and thankfully yesterday was my day off, which I spend in my thinking position again. In the end I came to a decision. If it is going to be the right one, I have no idea, but it is the best for the moment.

Joe knocks on my door and hour exactly an hour later. He has a key, but I think given the circumstances, he doesn't want to use it.

"Cupcake" He nods and walks in with a small box tugged under his arm.

"Joe" I say in return and motion for him to go into the living room.

For a few minutes we sit on the couch, neither one of us knowing what to say until I break the silence.

"I…uhm…I am sorry Joe." Tears are pooling in my eyes and I try to hold them at bay. I may not love him as much as I thought I did, but I loved him nonetheless. And ending this is hard. He has been my friend for the past three years, before we got together two years ago. To see this end is sad. "I can't marry you…I don't think I can give you what you want."

"It's okay cupcake. It's Manoso isn't it?" He questions and sets the box onto coffee table.

"Yeah…" I sniff "Since he has been back, it just brought back all these old feeling and I don't want to string you along. You deserve better." I found it is better to be honest. There is no need to lie here.

"So do you. He isn't good enough for you, cupcake. And if he hurts you, I will find a way to make him disappear." Joe growls.

"Don't worry; I won't let it come to that. We just gotta find closure, so that we both can move on" I tell him and Joe stands.

"Take care cupcake" He pulls me out of my seat and for the last time into his arms. "If you need anything, I will be here for you."

"Right back at ya" I mumble into his shoulder and inhale his scent for the last time. "Just don't come back with more holes in your body."

"I am good at what I do" He laughs and we pull apart. I hand him the box with his things and he leaves.

I am surprised he took it as well as he did. No lectures about how I was associating with a criminal or that Carlos is guilty. I know even if I find closure, Joe and I are better of being friends than lovers.

I take a deep breath to compose myself and get ready for work.

* * *

**Carlos's POV**

"Hey…what are you doing here?" Steph questions as she rounds the corner to the bar and bumps into me.

"Uhm…this is where I work" I reply and can barely hold back my grin.

"Funny" She says and hits me with the papers she is holding "I meant, what are you doing here today? You are not on till Friday!"

"Marcy didn't tell you, that she asked me to swap with her?" I ask. "She has some kind of family emergency and asked if I could help her out."

"No she didn't, but that's okay. You feel ready to take on the Bar by yourself?" Steph probes.

Monday and Tuesday nights, the bar part of Vinnie's is closed and the bartenders are allocated to the Restaurant Bar, Marcy usually works these two days, but that job falls to me today.

"Yeah I think I will be fine" I reply and motion to the papers she is holding. The top one says 'Staff Party' in big bold letters. "A Staff Party?"

"Yes…Twice a year, once in summer and once before Christmas, we close the club in Newark, hire temp staff and empty the liquor cabinets." Babe informs me with a big smile. I can see the excitement in her eyes. "It's in two weeks." She adds and hands me a flyer. "One will also be attached to your pay slip this week."

"Okay…Thanks." I say and look at the sheet. The paper is pink and the writing huge, with lots of small pictures of the previous staff party next to it. "Looks like you guys had a blast at Christmas" I have to keep myself from laughing at a picture of Steph and Lula, both are wearing party hats and look considerably drunk, but yet incredibly happy.

"I only get to drink twice a year on my cousins dime, I may as well enjoy it" She quips and turns on her heel, but not before looking at me with a smile "Now… Don't you have work to do?"

"Yes Boss" I salute her and I can still hear her laughing as the kitchen doors close behind her.

* * *

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